So I’ll admit it. I didn’t know what a blue moon was. We were at the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game on Friday night and my friend Merle pointed out the moon coming up over the trees. “It’s a blue moon,” she said. My husband Dave cheerfully posed with the blue moon and explained that a blue moon is when there are two full moons in one calendar month. The fact that this happens only rarely explains the origin of the phrase ‘once in a blue moon.’

My friend Elizabeth posted this amazing photo of the blue moon over Austin Texas where she lives. Nice to think that she and I were looking at that same beautiful moon even though we were thousands of miles apart. And our friend Mitch captured the blue moon over Jessica Lake where he owns a cottage.

I had lunch with my sister at The BerMax Cafe on Corydon not long ago. The chairs were comfy, the decor interesting and the food was fine, although the air conditioning was on full blast so we froze as we sat and talked. But……………… the restaurant has the most interesting bathroom. Check out this high tech sink. You hold your hands under the centre of the tap for the water to come out and then you just move your hands apart where they are dried under the two metal pieces sticking out on either side. A little card by the sink tells you how it works. You feel like you are in the centre of an Italian city as you use the washroom. This floor to ceiling scene is to your right as you use the facilitiesAnd this is the view to your left.My mother always said you…

Last week the members of the Residents of the Exchange District here in Winnipeg had an opportunity to meet with Mayor Brian Bowman. He told us about some of his visionary ideas for the city and we talked to him about our concerns and questions.

Mayor Brian Bowman meets with members of the Residents of the Exchange District at the Gurevich Art Gallery

One priority for the mayor is increasing funding to the arts. Since many galleries, studios and performance venues are located in the Exchange District this could be particularly important to our area of the city.

Winnipeg Exchange District painting by Caroline Dukes at the Millennium Library

Mayor Bowman told us for every dollar you invest in the arts you get an $18 economic return. The average Canadian city invests $35 per person annually in the arts. Winnipeg invested $5 when Mr. Bowman took office. His first budget…

We biked over to Broadway yesterday morning to have breakfast at Fools and Horses a new coffee place that just opened. Our niece’s fiancee helped craft the interior design. We wanted to check it out. We also knew the nephew of good friends was making some of the baked goods on the menu. While she prepared his Americano coffee Dave chatted with one of the Fools and Horses owners who just happens to be a former student of his. We found a seat in the sunny front window. I had the poppy seed roll and Dave a prairie apple cinnamon roll. What good coffee, delicious pastry and a great place to people watch!!

I’m a huge Shakespeare in the Ruins fans and can still remember almost every play I’ve seen by the talented company. I’ve been going to their performances for years. I loved their presentation of The Tempest, their Romeo and Juliet in a parking garage and their production of Amid Summer Night’s Dream in a downtown park. Last year’s Comedy of Errors was a complete delight. We took visitors from Hong Kong and they were so impressed.

I have to say that this year’s Antony and Cleopatra might be my least favorite of all their productions. For me having the characters wear First Nations costumes and setting the play in pre-confederation Canada just didn’t work. The story of how the indigenous people of Canada were robbed of sovereignty of their own land is of vital importance and needs to be told; but aligning that story with the story of Antony and…

We biked over to the BMC Market Esencia Latina Cafe on Osborne last week for tacos. It’s a three generation female business. Grandmother and mother do the cooking and the granddaughter is in charge of taking orders and operating the cash register.The ambiance is simple but clean and charming in its own way. It is very small however. Just a few tables. The day we were there many patrons just came in to pick up take-out.

You can’t beat the prices. Three tacos for $5.00 and you can mix and match. I had the baja, tinga and chorizo tacos. The soft corn-flour tortillas are homemade and baked after you’ve placed your order. Marion Warhaft the Free Press food columnist gave the place a good review. We liked it too.

What was going on? On Monday when I walked into Winnipeg Square on my way home from work there was a long line of people blocking my way. Turns out they were waiting to have their photos taken with The Property Brothers. I recognized the two fellows immediately since I’d seen them interviewed on a City Line television show I watched during one of my gym workouts. The Property Brothers are Drew and Jonathan Scott and they have a television show where each week Drew, a real estate agent helps families find just the right fixer-upper house and then Jonathan a contractor transforms the fixer-upper into the house of their dreams. Scotia Bank had brought the brothers to Winnipeg and if the length of the line in Winnipeg Square was any indication they were going to be posing for photos with hundreds of people during their public appearance. …

Poseidon Bay is just off Grant Avenue in Winnipeg. It bears the name of the Greek God Poseidon who together with his two brothers Zeus and Hades had a powerful triumvirate. Hades was in charge of the underworld, Zeus the sky and Poseidon the sea. Poseidon had a temperamental personality. In a bad mood he could cause huge sea storms and earthquakes. In a good mood he would create new islands and offer calm seas to sailors. Poseidon’s city was Atlantis which was under the sea.

The Pan Am Pool is on Poseidon Bay. It seems fitting that a swimming pool would be located on a street named for the God of the Sea.

There are a number of pieces in the current Olympus exhibit at the Winnipeg Art Gallery that pay tribute to the god Poseidon. On the bottom of this kylix or drinking cup you can see Poseidon holding…